Mission Opportunities
Faith In Action
This is a group of adults and youth that team together to do projects for the elderly and others in the community to clean up yards and other projects such as window washing. They have also adopted a section of state highway 218 to do regular cleanup projects on. Contact people are Al Arnold and Deb Miller.
Operation Classroom
Each fall, in conjunction with the start of the school year, the congregation donates school supplies and child size new or next to new tennis shoes that are packed up and shipped to third world countries in need of the supplies. In recent years the supplies have been shipped to Sierra Leone and Haiti
Covenant Partnership
Owatonna United Methodist Church annually supports Rev. Tsuchue Vang Vang and his wife Joa Vang, both missionaries with the General Board of Global Ministries, serving in Laos. Rev. Vang is the Mission Coordinator. His responsibilities include coordination of all ministries within the United Methodist Mission there such as: leadership and skills training, church leader training, laity/local pastor training and education, Bible study, social and business development, and serving as liaison between the United Methodist Church and the Lao government.
Friends In Need
We support the regular maintenance of financial budget both at our church and the Owatonna Ministerial Association that helps local individuals or families in need of emergency provisions such as transportation, hot meals or temporary shelter.
Fall Coat Drive
Each fall our Committee asks for congregation members to donate clean winter coats, gloves, hats that are turned over to the Steele County Clothesline. The donation bin is located in the Fellowship Hall.
Mitten Tree
Each Christmas and Thanksgiving holiday season the “Mitten Tree” is placed in the narthex. New mittens and gloves are donated and placed on the tree and brought to the Steele County Clothesline.
Minnesota FoodShare Drive
Each year, in the month of March, our church participates in this statewide effort to restock shelves at the Steele County Food Shelf. Non-perishable food and cash are collected and donated. Cash donations are then matched by private company partners around the state.
Heifer Project
For many years OUMC has had an annual Heifer International campaign. Members of our congregation buy either shares or whole animals that are used for agricultural and food generation all over the world. Communities receiving the animals or other agricultural products are trained in the care and regeneration of animal offspring that are then given to other community members who do the same. Our annual campaigns have been very successful and take place over the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday season.
Adult Mission Trip
An Adult Mission Trip Sub-Committee is now formed to gather, study and plan for an annual mission trip. They are also available to assist in disaster cleanup efforts.
Youth Mission
Separate junior high and senior high youth mission trips take place annually. Junior high trips stay within state boundaries. Senior high trips travel to other parts of the country and have gone as far as Mexico on one occasion.
